Under general manager Jon Daniels, the Rangers have
developed a reputation as a team that always has plenty of irons in the fire,
and this off-season hasn’t done much to change that.

Since the season ended, the Rangers have been linked with
big names like Josh Hamilton, Zack Greinke and Justin Upton. But Hamilton and
Greinke signed elsewhere in December, and Upton, who many saw as the last
impact bat available this off-season, will play for the Braves after being
traded from Arizona
last week.

The Rangers had long been mentioned as a destination for Upton dating back as far
as last year’s trade deadline. And while Jon Daniels and his staff made little
effort to hide their interest in Upton, Daniels
said this week that the Rangers had fallen out of the Upton sweepstakes weeks ago.

“Once the deal with Seattle
went down and then ultimately didn’t, that was probably the end of our involvement,”
Daniels said on SiriusXM’s “Inside Pitch” show. “[Arizona GM Kevin Towers] had
a number of discussions. Our deal, had we done it with them, would’ve been more
prospect-oriented. I think [Towers’] focus was – not that he wasn’t looking for
prospects – but I think he was looking for big league fits, and he got one in
[Martin] Prado and we weren’t looking to part with one of our shortstops. So it
wasn’t until he started looking at some prospect-oriented deals that we got back
involved, but we just didn’t line up so we both agreed to move on.”

The Seattle trade Daniels
referenced came just over two weeks ago, when the Mariners and Diamondbacks
reportedly agreed on a deal that would send Upton
to Seattle for
a package of prominent prospects. But Upton
ultimately used his limited no-trade clause to veto the deal sometime around
January 12.

So with Upton
out of the picture, the Rangers’ options for an impact acquisition this
off-season have grown even slimmer. And while two of the top free agents left
on the market – CF Michael Bourn and RHP Kyle Lohse – both seem to fill a need
for the Rangers, Daniels didn’t seem optimistic that either would be
Texas-bound.

“I don’t want to get into those guys individually or anything
like that,” Daniels said. “Obviously, they’re talented and accomplished guys,
but I don’t expect that we’re going to do anything significant before we go to
camp.”